| Father: | Samuel Rodier Heath | |
|---|---|---|
| Mother: | Mary Mosely | |
| Born: | __/__/1840-ish? | |
| Died: | 16/1/1896 | |
| Buried: | 17/1/1896 | St Kilda |
| Married: | __/__/1863 | Susannah Ellen Willson in Kent |
| Children: | Robert Willson Heath (Bert) | |
| Ellen Clara Heath (Nellie) | ||
| Katie Rodier Heath | ||
| Henry Parker Heath | ||
| William Mosely Heath | ||
| Charles Samuel Rodier Heath | ||
| Andrew Reed Heath | ||
| Howard Russell Heath | ||
| Frederick Verrel Heath | ||
| Lillian Maxwell Heath |
Robert Mosely Heath was born around 1840 somewhere on the coast of Devon (his father, Samuel, was in the leathergoods trade and moved between coastal cities, except for a period in London). Robert's twin sister died at birth.
He married Susannah Willson in Totness and emigrated from Devon when she was four months pregnant, arriving in Port Fairy in January 1864 on the Kent (the Australian Public Library has an 1890 painting of the wreck of the Kent). The shipping details are from the Public Records Office, code B fiche 228 page 1
He stayed with his brother Andrew and his wife in Collingwood until Bert was born on the 4th of April, and Berts birth was registered there.
He shortly moved to 70 Grattan St in the heart of what is now Carlton (three doors east from Lygon St), and was in trade as a draper.
He moved to Kilmore around 1868, where he stayed for over eleven years before moving back to the vicinity of Carlton, where he owned this house .
While in Kilmore he was a much-loved kindergarten superintendent for the local church for eleven years, and was presented with a handsome mantel clock which is still in the family.
Afterward he returned to Melbourne where he worked as a "floor-walker" at the Ball & Welch department store in Flinders St, and lived in Canterbury Rd Toorak, where he was living when his youngest daughter Lillian was married.
